Concert review/photos: Rhett Miller @ World Cafe Live

Whiskey was flowing in verse on Thursday.

Rhett Miller
Chris Sikich

Rhett Miller
Chris Sikich

Rhett Miller
Chris Sikich

Rhett Miller
Chris Sikich

Rhett Miller
Chris Sikich

Lilly Hiatt
Chris Sikich

Rhett Miller
Chris Sikich

Rhett Miller
Chris Sikich

Rhett Miller
Chris Sikich

Rhett Miller
Chris Sikich

Rhett Miller
Chris Sikich

Rhett Miller
Chris Sikich

Rhett Miller
Chris Sikich

Rhett Miller
Chris Sikich

Rhett Miller
Chris Sikich

Rhett Miller
Chris Sikich

Lilly Hiatt
Chris Sikich

Lilly Hiatt
Chris Sikich

Lilly Hiatt
Chris Sikich

Lilly Hiatt
Chris Sikich

[ 2/27 ]  Whiskey was flowing in verse on Thursday as Rhett Miller brought his windmill guitar artistry and bar-band songcraft to World Café Live. With an April release for the next Old 97’s album Most Messed Up and a new solo record in the works with backing band Black Prairie, Miller is bursting with material. And he was not afraid to share.

Opening the night aptly with “Lost Without You,” Miller declared his reliance on audience appreciation. And the rest of the 25 songs he delivered in rapid-fire succession, punctuated by occasional entertaining preambles, were treats of all flavors. Among tales of love lost and gained and partying were six songs from Most Messed Up. This preview of half an album was exciting to say the least, especially since they sound brilliant solo and hint at full-band greatness. From the blunt fun of “Let’s Get Drunk and Get It On” and the album’s title track, Miller and the rest of the 97’s have hooked our ears with catchy lyrics once again. The epic brilliance of new track “Longer Than You’ve Been Alive” was accentuated by three sheets of handwritten lyrics on the ground since Miller had not sung it live before.

Miller did not disappoint with the classics, with songs like “Four Leaf Clover,” “Barrier Reef,” and “Big Brown Eyes” getting the audience in a frenzy. The closing song, a bullet of joy in “Timebomb,” concluded with two strings being unraveled from Miller’s guitar as the audience emphatically applauded. Miller certainly loves Philly as much as Philly loves him. He and the Old 97’s will be back for an unspecified July date where more adoration is sure to be exchanged.

Nashville singer-songwriter Lilly Hiatt, performing in Philly for the first time, played a lovely opening set.

SETLIST

• Lost Without You
• Doreen
• Let's Get Drunk and Get It On
• Help Me, Suzanne
• Let the Whiskey Take the Reins
• Terrible Vision
• Niteclub
• This Is the Ballad
• Come Around
• Barrier Reef
• Book of Poems
• Four Leaf Clover
• Question
• You Belong to My Heart
• Wasted
• 19
• Fireflies
• Stoned
• Big Brown Eyes
• Won't Be Home No More
• The Ex of All You See
• Most Messed Up
• Our Love

ENCORE

• Longer Than You've Been Alive
• Over the Cliff
• Timebomb

See more of Chris Sikich's work here.